NET or net?

When the UGC decided to conduct the first National Eligibility Test in December 1989, little did anyone know that the test will become such a net that will strangulate the careers of many young academics. The UGC has been experimenting with the pattern of the test and issues attached to it ever since it was first conducted. Two decades have passed and still NET is one of the most controversial issues in the academic arena. The UGC had conceptualized NET to raise the academic standards of our universities. But, even a laymean will vouch for the fact that it has actually harmed the universities. Today, all you need is NET and a university position awaits you. In such a scenario how many of us are likely to consider serious academic pursuits? Today when MPhil and PhD degrees are being superpositioned by NET, how will the research scholars sustain themselves? Of course, we have an option of joining private colleges, where they pay decent salaries WITHOUT the "NET tag." One doesnt have to be a genius to guess who suffers in the end. It is high time that the Universities took up this cause as they happen to be treading the dangerous ground. The young academic, though disillusioned and frustrated, will survive but the University perishes...sooner or later.

Copy of the UGC letter concerning Guest appointments in the universities

University Grants Commission
Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg
New Delhi 110002
SPEED POST
No. F. 10-1/2009 (PS) February,2010
The Registrar.
All Central/Deemed/State Universities,
All State Education Secretaries,
All Regional Offices of the U GC.
Sub.:Revised Guidelines for the Scheme of Appointment / Honorarium of Guest/Part-Time Teachers.
Sir/Madam,
I am directed to say that the UGC has accepted the recommendation of VI Pay Review Committee regarding revised guidelines for the Scheme of Appointment / Honorarium of Guest/Part Time Teachers.
The UGC has decided that the Guest/Part-time Teachers who possess the minimum qualification for the post of an Assistant Professor should be paid Rs.1,000/- per lecture to a maximum of Rs.25,000/- per month. Revised guidelines for the appointment of Guest/Part-time Teachers are as under:-
1. Guest/Part-time Teachers may be appointed only against sanctioned post.
2. The qualifications for Guest/Part time Teachers should be same as those prescribed for the regular teachers of Universities/Colleges in UGC’s Regulation.
3. Selection procedure for appointing Guest/Part time Teachers should be the same as for a regularly appointed teachers.
4. Guest/Part time Teachers may not be treated like regular teachers of the faculty for the purpose of voting rights or for becoming the members of the boards of studies.
5. Retired teachers may also be considered for appointment for Guest/Part time teachers.
6. Guest/Part time teachers may not be given the benefit of allowances, pension, gratuity etc.
These guidelines will come into force w.e.f.1.1.2010.
The contents of the letter may be brought to the notice of all the affiliated Colleges/Institutions.
Yours faithfully,
(B.K. Singh)
Deputy Secretary